The Movement to Ban Government Use of Face Recognition

In the hands of police and other government agencies, face recognition technology presents an inherent threat to our privacy, free expression, information security, and social justice. Our faces are unique identifiers that can’t be left at home, or replaced like a stolen ID or compromised password. The technology facilitates covert mass surveillance of the places we frequent, people we associate with, and, purportedly, our emotional state.

Fortunately, communities across the country are fighting back. In the three years since San Francisco passed its first-of-a-kind ban on government use of facial recognition, at least 16 more municipalities, from Oakland to Boston, have followed their lead. These local bans are necessary to protect residents from harms that are inseparable from municipal use of this dangerous technology.

The most effective of the existing bans on government face surveillance have crucial elements in common. They broadly define the technology, provide effective mechanisms for any community member to take legal enforcement action should the ordinance be violated, and limit the use of any information acquired in an inadvertent breach of the prohibition.

There are, however, important nuances in how each ordinance accomplishes these goals. Here we will identify the best features of 17 local bans on government use of face recognition. We hope this will help show authors of the next round how best to protect their communities.

You can press the play button below to see a map showing the 17 communities that have adopted these bans.